Scripture Reading: Genesis 11:1-9.
Memory Verse: Daniel 12:1.
1. What is the second angel’s message in Revelation 14? Revelation 14:8.
2. What do the two women in Revelation represent? Revelation 12:1, Revelation 17:3-5.
3. What other characteristics identify who this harlot is? Revelation 17:3, 6, 18.
Note: The harlot has the same characteristics as the beast in Revelation 13.
4. How has the harlot been unfaithful to God? Revelation 17:2-4.
5. What do the harlot’s daughters represent? Revelation 17:5.
Note: In Catholicism, religious authorities dictate what the Bible means: “All its members recognize the (Catholic) Church as the authorized living interpreter of scripture.” In contrast, the Protestant Reformers believed in sola scriptura, which means that the Bible is the only infallible source for the Christian doctrine. This idea led to the Reformation, a movement in which believers separated from the Catholic Church and formed the Protestant denominations. The Lutherans were established from Martin Luther, the Presbyterians from John Calvin, the Methodists from John Wesley, etc. But how many Catholic doctrines do these denominations still practice today? In these Protestant churches remain many of the false teachings of the “Mother Church,” out of which they came. As one Catholic cleric said, “May we not invite our fellow countrymen of other faiths to return to the holy Catholic Apostolic Church, the historic center of unity, and the mother from whom they have strayed?” The harlot’s daughters are the other Christian denominations which, by following their mother’s false beliefs, are likewise unfaithful to the Word of God. The spiritual harlotry of these daughter churches has been accurately called “apostate Protestantism.”
6. What happened to the faithful woman of Revelation 12? Revelation 12:13, 16.
7. What does the second beast of Revelation 13 represent? Revelation 13:11.
Note: A. It was established about the time that the pope went into captivity (Revelation 13:10). We’ve established that the first beast received its deadly wound in 1798.
B. It was established out of the earth (v. 11). Since waters in Bible prophecy represent a densely populated area (17:15), the earth represents the opposite- a relatively unpopulated area.
C. Its horns looked like a lamb’s (13:11) In Bible prophecy horns symbolize kings (Daniel 7:24, Daniel 8:21). But notice that this second beast, unlike the first (Revelation 13:1), has no crowns. A crown indicates a monarchy, a kingdom governed by royalty. We can conclude, then, that this beast does not represent a monarchy. In addition, a lamb in Bible symbolism refers to Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:6; 7:9; 14:1). That this second beast has lamb’s horns means that its power of rule is affiliated with Christianity. There is only one nation that fits all these characteristics: the United States of America. The United States declared itself an independent nation in 1776; instituted its governing principles, the Constitution, in 1787; and by 1798, when the papacy received its deadly wound, the world recognized the United States as an independent country.
8. What happens to the United States in the end times? Revelation 13:11-12.
9. What three powers will unite in the end times? Revelation 16:13.
10. What does the false prophet represent? Revelation 13:13-14, Revelation 19:20.
11. What do these three powers united represent? Revelation 16:19.
12. What does God urge people who are inside Babylon to do? Revelation 18:4.